Review Policy

Thank you for visiting my review policy page. I enjoy reading contemporary fiction, young adult fiction, chick-lit, historical fiction, fantasy and gothic horror stories. I also occasionally read memoirs. I don’t sell the ARC’s which are sent to me for review, but will sometimes include them as part of a giveaway or donate them to my local library (unless specifically requested otherwise). Please note that I am not accepting self published or e-books at this time.

Since I recieve quite a few requests for reviews, I am selective about the titles I accept and will generally only respond to the inquiries that interest me. I would love to e-mail each and every person who sends me a book pitch, but I can no longer keep up!

Please note that my acceptance of a review copy does not guarantee that I will write a review. If I cannot finish a book due to lack of interest then I will not write a review. I will however write a review if the book is finished. I do my best to get a review up on my blog in a timely manner, although with two young children sometimes that can be a challenge. This means it can take anywhere from 2 to 6 months for me to post a review.

I write honest reviews that help my readers select quality books, therefore if I did not like the book I will say so in my review, along with my reasons why. Even though I don’t guarantee a positive review, I try to write reviews that are fair, balanced and constructive.

If you are a publisher or author who would like their book reviewed here on Stephanie’s Written Word, please fill out the contact form at the bottom of this page.

My blog views have increased steadily over the past three and a half years, averaging over 3,000 hits a month (although in July 2009 I had over 12,500 hits). I also regularly visit and comment on numerous book related sites. I am open to hosting giveaways, guest blog posts and author interviews and in 2009 and 2010 I hosted the Everything Austen Challenges, which had more than 300 participants and over 800 reviews. I have also contributed posts at the ReadingGroupGuides.com blog.

You can see examples of recent giveaways here:

Giveaway of three books by Syrie James

Therese Fowler’s books Souvenir and Reunion

Knit Two by Kate Jacobs

Meg Waite Clayton’s The Wednesday Sisters

For examples of author interviews, click below:

Kathleen Flinn, author of The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry

Laura Fitzgerald, author of Veil of Roses and One True Theory of Love

And guest blog posts:

Sex and the Austen Girl by Laurie Viera Rigler

Eileen Goudge’s inspiration for The Diary

Writing from experience by author Ellen Baker